The Lunar New Year period holidays were spent in Chinatown – together with the mainlanders – baixing - 百姓. They are the common folks who are here as foreign labors, students, and without a better place to hang out, they gathered in Chinatown – to be with their own kind and to seep in whatever air of festivities that the sights and sounds the Chinatown could bring them.

With the local eateries all closed for two consecutive days, the only place that one could have lunch and dinner was at the restaurants run by the Chinese – that is the Chinese Chinese.

Well to differentiate the Chinese Chinese from the Singaporean Chinese, let’s refer to them as the Chinese from the mainland or the Mainlanders for short (this reference here is purely for ethnic identity, and with respect).

The fellow ethnic Chinese from China mainland are by and large different from the local Singaporean Chinese. Different – is because this wave of immigration of the 21st century is from the Northern and interior provinces of China, while the early immigrants of our forefather’s time were from the South-easterly costal regions and the island of Hainan.

The overhead bridge garden was a convenient and busy gathering point for the migrant workers who had a long holiday break. I had a chance to join in and listen to the conversation that this local old man had on the evening of the First Day of the Year of Jichou - 己丑年 - with the three fellow Mainlanders.

The local old man – let’s refer to him as Ah Pek –阿伯- uncle in Hokkien - is in his sixties, and probably a resident of Ngau Chiar Shui - 牛车水- Chinatown in Cantonese - all his life. His teeth are almost gone. He did not cut his hair for the New Year, perhaps he has not much left, and is the typical kopitiam - coffee joint ala carte local flavor - Ah Pek.

Together with him were two other local Singaporean Chinese, but because they could not speak Mandarin, this Ah Pek was the live wire, interpreter and spokesman for the mini New Gathering of the baixing –百姓- the hundred surnames – meaning the common folks.

What was interesting of this conversation was that – this Ah Pek is perhaps typical of the older generation of Chinese educated Singaporean Chinese, who still has a feel and connection with the fellow Mainlanders – verbally and culturally. A passing breed –

He introduced to the fellow Mainlanders that he is by dialect groupCantonese, while his two other fellow local Singaporean is Hokkien, and Teochew. He spoke in a mix of Mandarin, Cantonese, Hokkien and English. Whatever his two other fellow Singaporeans who could not connect with the Mainlanders in English, he helped them interpret to Mandarin.

He asked which part of China the Mainlanders were from and they replied – Henan – 河南省and Hunan 湖南. When he heard Henan – he immediately mentioned – Justice Bao – and sang and an aria from the popular TV drama series – Bao Qing Tian – 包青天-the incorruptible judge of the Song Dynasty – 宋朝 - 960 – 1279CE. And said the song Justice Bao is popular among the common folks here. Well, the cultural connection!

On Hunan, he mentioned Mao Zedong – 毛泽东- and Zhu Rongji - 朱镕基. Perhaps because it the Lunar New Year and with all its custom, beliefs and traditions, he proudly mentioned that Mao advocated atheism – wusen lun – 无神论- and demonstrated courage and break away with traditions. He mentioned that without Mao’s foundation, there would not be China today. You see, the depth and interest he knew of China !

Interestingly, he mentioned that previously the government was suspicious of Chinese education, and he was indignant about it. At the sideline listening, I was wondering how much the Mainlanders could relate to this episode of the local history where the Chinese schools in Singapore and the Malay Peninsula then, from the 1950/s to the 1970/s, were the hot spot of communist infiltrators.

On Zhu Rongji, Ah Pek spoke with respect and deference, and said that the former Premier Zhu had never allowed his children to be in politics - whether it is a fact or not. Well, …

He also jokingly related the difference between Cantonese - 粤语 - yueyu - and Mandarin –which he refers to as Guoyu - 国语 the National Language – that is – Mandarin or Putonghua – 普通话- which Taiwan -the Republic of China - still uses. He mentioned that in Mandarin, one would greet each other as - Ni hao ma or Hao bu Hao?– 你好吗? or 好不好? - in Cantonese he said that it would be disrespectful to use Ni hao ma - especially to female for cos in Cantonese - hao bu hao 好不好- means – are you sexy or not! In Cantonese hao means - sexy! Here, the ethnic connection!

Well, so much for the all the Bull… shit, it's time to leave for dinner!

It’s to North-Eastern China – Dong Bei Restaurant- 东北菜馆– at Mosque Street - for a treat of jiao zhi - 饺子- meat dumpling – a must have tradition in the Northern Provinces of China – regions north of the Yangzi River - 扬子江。

After dinner, it was off to the nearby LianZhong Wangba - 联众网吧- internet café to enjoy the recording of the – Spring Festival Year End Gala - Chunjie Lianhuan Wanhui – 春节联欢晚会。

A hundred years hence, 2109 - perhaps, it will be left to the descendants of these Mainlanders to make the connect with the Mainland…

Postscript -

1. Baixing – 百姓

Usually use with the adjective lao – 老 – Lao Baixing – 老百姓 - an intimate term – to mean the common folks.

President Hu and Premier Wen spent their New Year with the Lao Baixing in Jingangshang – 井冈山- the cradle of Chinese Communism, and the Wenchuan – 汶川- the epicenter of the Sichaun earthquake, respectively.

2. 己丑年 – Year of Yichou

The naming of the year using the Ten Heavenly Stems – 天干- tian gan - and the Twelve Earthly Branches – 地支 - dizhi - began more than 3000 years ago – with a cycle of 60years - is much older in origin than the 12 Chinese Zodiac cycle – 十二生肖。

3. 春节联欢晚会 - The Spring Festival Year End Gala

The Year End Gala Performance by CCTV broadcast on the eve of Lunar New Year - into it’s 28 odd years started with China opening up in 1978 - is a must see for the Chinese. It is as much a New Year traditional to the Chinese, as to the Japanese watching the - Red & White Song Festival - 红白歌合战大会 - broadcast by NHK on 31Dec, each year.

Friday, January 02, 2009

It brings to mind the poem - Record of The Peach Blossom Garden - 桃花源记 by Tao Yuan Ming - 陶渊明 (372-427AD) who lived during the Eastern Jin period - 东晋 .

阡陌交通，鸡犬相闻。其中往来种作，男女衣着，悉如外人，黄发垂髫，并怡然自乐

Though it is not a path leading to the paddy fields, but a winding mountain road along a fast flowing mountain stream to a kampong, the description is of a peaceful and secluded place - where one hears the chicken and the dogs, where the old and the young are content and happy in one with nature. For a while it seems like I was in Tao’s Shangri-la – away from the maddening crowd, where time seems to have stood still, and life is simple and carefree. And it is surprising close to ‘civilization’.

The house is of bamboo walls, and the roof thatched with attap. Once warm up to the presence of strangers, the children and elders are friendly and they seem not to mind the intrusion of outsiders.

They are the Orang Asli – aborigines – of Ulu Kinta is a peaceful tribe living inn the outskirt of Ipoh 24 km odd in the North-easterly direction towards Tanjung Rambutan, on the foothills of the Main Range in Peninsula Malay.

The Orang Asli are the ‘original people’ of the Kinta Valley. They were here when Kinta was but a thick impregnable jungle and the only access was through the Kinta River and its tributaries. They speak a language different from Malay and the valley is the abode of the Senoi. Many years back I went to see the prehistoric Tambun Cave Paintings, and these paintings were possibly the master pieces left by the ancestors of these children. These paintings were 2000 years old, and the only rock art in Malaysia found to be drawn using heamatite (iron rust) while the others were painted with charcoal.

The usefulness of tin to the industrial age of from the later half of 19th century, and the subsequent discovery that there was an abundance of it the Kinta Valley opened up this area as the new frontier for tin mining. By then the mines in the Larut Valley with Taiping as the center, were beginning to be exhausted.

This group of children has the river and mountain as their play yard. They fear not the water rapid. They just stripped and leapt from the rocky slope and dived into the fast flowing waters just so as to impress this outsider and be captured in his 21st century trapping - the Sony Ericsson hand phone camera.

As a trade, the Orang Asli folks still gather petai from the jungle and sell to the middle man. The pungent jungle pea, which like durian - king of fruits with creamy seeds in a thony husk - you either like it or you don’t. It is deliciously crunchy when cook in spices and shrimps.

A thousand seven to eight hundred odd years ago when Tao Yuan Ming wrote this poem was written, the ancestors of this outsider were possibly still living in the plains of north China. Over the many thousand of years while the ancestors of this outsider have migrated far and wide with each major historic event, the Organ Asli has stayed put and faithful to their land.

Well, in the hustle and bustle of our daily lives, in each of us we yearn for our own - Tao HuaYuan – the Shangri-la where living seems peacefully simple, and un-hurried.

Postscript -

1. Petai

I had wanted to by a few pods of the petai – however they were not sold loosely but in the bulk. A bundle of 200 pods – with each pod of 12 to 15 seeds– was quoted at RM80. At the NTUC supermarket – a tray of 20 odd seeds would cost S$2.50. It's 10x more.

The fisherman saw paths extending among the fields inall directions, and could hear the sounds of chickens and dogs. Men and women working in the fields all wore clothing that looked like that of foreign lands. The elderly and children all seemed to be happy and enjoying themselves. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/2090/2090-0.txt